Friday, July 20, 2012

Ramadan

Ramadan honors the night in 610 A.D. when the Koran descended into the soul of the Prophet Muhammad. The last ten days of Ramadan are particularly holy as they include Laylat al-Qadr, night of power, which is the night when the Angel Gabriel first spoke to Muhammad and revealed the Koran (Glasse 276). Muslims celebrate this occasion with fasting, which is an important part of their religion as it is one of the five pillars or key practices of Islam.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Daniel Boone: His Valley Connections

Did you know that Daniel Boone has connections to the Shenandoah Valley?


First of all, there was a brief period of time when Daniel Boone lived in the Shenandoah Valley. Around 1750 Daniel Boone’s father Squire Boone moved his family from Oley, Pennsylvania through the Shenandoah Valley to the Yadkin Valley of North Carolina.[1] They would have traveled west on the Allegheny Trail and south along the Virginia Road/Great Wagon Road (Interstate 81 now roughly follows the same route).[2] The Boone family stayed in the Linville Creek area for two years planting a crop there in 1750 and 1751 before moving on to their final destination.[3]